As an alternate to the middle school model, some secondary schools divided their grades into Junior High School (Years 7 to 9 or 10) and Senior High School (Years 10 or 11 and 12).[note 1]

In 1996 and 1997, a national conference met to develop what became known as the National Middle Schooling Project, which aimed to develop a common Australian view of

early adolescent needs

guiding principles for educators

appropriate strategies to foster positive adolescent learning.

The first middle school established in Australia was The Armidale School,[1] in Armidale (approximately 570 km north of Sydney, 470 km south of Brisbane and approximately 170 km inland from the coast). Schools have since followed this trend, such as The King's School.

Middle school and junior high school are both used, depending on what grades the school caters to.[4] Junior highs tend to only include grades 7, 8, and 9 (some older schools with the name carved in concrete, still use "junior high," as part of their name, although grade nine is now missing), whereas middle schools are usually grades 6–8 or only grades 7 and 8 (i.e. around ages 11–14), varying from area to area and also according to population vs. building capacity. Another common model is grades 5–8. Alberta, Nova-Scotia, and Prince Edward Island junior high schools (the term "middle school" is not commonly used) include only grades 7–9, with the first year of high school traditionally being grade 10. In some places students go from elementary school to secondary school.

Quebec uses a grade system that is different from the other provinces. The Secondary level has 5 grades, starting after Elementary Grade 6. These are called Secondary I to Secondary V.[citation needed]

In the People's Republic of China, middle school has two stages, junior stage (grades 7–9, some places are grades 6–9) and senior stage (grades 10–12). The junior stage education is the last 3 years of 9-year-compulsory education for all young citizens; while the senior stage education is optional but considered as a critical preparation for college education. Some middle schools have both stages while some have either of them.

The admissions for most students to enroll in senior middle schools from junior stage are on the basis of the scores that they get in "Senior Middle School Entrance Exam",[note 3] which are held by local governments. Other students may avoid the exam, based on their distinctive talents, like athletics, or excellent daily performance in junior stage.

Students have the opportunity to enroll in high school from Grade 5 or (less commonly[citation needed]) Grade 7 of elementary school, spending eight or six years respectively at high school that otherwise takes four years. Thus they can spend five years in elementary school, followed by eight in high school. The first four years of eight-year study program at high school are comparable with junior high school.[citation needed] Gymnasium focuses on a more advanced academic approach to education.[citation needed] All other types of high schools except gymnasiums and conservatories (e.g. lyceums) accept only students that finished Grade 9.[5]

In Egypt, middle school precedes high school. It is called the preparatory stage and consists of three phases: first preparatory in which students study more subjects than primary with different branches. For instance, algebra and geometry are taught instead of "mathematics." In the second preparatory phase, students study science, geography, the history of Egypt starting with pharaonic history, including Coptic history, Islamic history, and concluding with modern history. The students are taught three languages. Arabic is obligatory. Two others are chosen as first and second languages: English, French, German, Spanish, or Italian. Middle school (preparatory stage) lasts for three years.[citation needed]

In France, the equivalent period to middle school is collège, which lasts four years from the Sixième (sixth, the equivalent of the Canadian and American Grade 6) to the Troisième (third, the equivalent of the Canadian and American Grade 9), accommodating pupils aged between 11 and 15. Upon completion of the latter, students are awarded a Brevet des collèges if they obtain a certain amount of points on a series of tests in various subjects (French, history / geography, mathematics) and oral examinations (history of arts). They can then enter high school (called lycée), which lasts three years from the Seconde to the Terminale until the baccalauréat, and during which they can choose a general or a professional field of study.[6]

There are four middle schools in Gibraltar, following the English model of middle-deemed-primary schools accommodating pupils aged between 8 and 12 (National Curriculum Years 4 to 7). The schools were opened in 1972 when the government introduced comprehensive education in the country.[7]

In Italy the equivalent is the "scuola secondaria di primo grado" formerly and commonly called "middle lower school" (Scuola Media Inferiore), often shortened to "middle school" (Scuola Media). When the "Scuola secondaria di secondo grado", the equivalent of high school, was formerly called "middle higher school" (Scuola Media Superiore), commonly called "Superiori". The Middle School lasts three years from the student age of 11 to age 14. Since 2009, after "Gelmini reform", the middle school was renamed "Scuola secondaria di primo grado" ("junior secondary school").

In Malaysia, pre-schools (Kindergarten) are meant for children from 5–6 years old. 7–12 year old kids attend Primary School/Elementary School[note 5] from Standard 1 to Standard 6. There are three types of schooling depending on the child's spoken language: Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. 13–17 year old students study in secondary school/high school. These schools are numbered from Form 1 to Form 5. There is also an optional Form 6 (Pre-university or A level equivalent). This is divided into Lower Form 6 and Upper Form 6. Students may choose to study other equivalent courses instead of taking Form 6 classes.

Form 1 to 3 students are called lower secondary students[note 6] and Form 4 to 6 are called upper secondary students.[note 7]

In Mexico, the middle school system is called Secundaria and usually comprises three years, grades 7–9 (ages: 7: 12–13, 8: 13–14, 9: 14–15). It is completed after Primaria (Elementary School, up to grade 6: ages 6–12.) and before Preparatoria/Bachillerato (High School, grades 10–12 ages 15–18).

In New Zealandintermediate schools cover years 7 to 8 (formerly known as Forms 1 to 2, with children generally aged between 10 and 13). There are full primary schools which also contain year 7 and 8 with students continuing to high school at year 9/Form 3. Some high schools also include years 7 and 8.[citation needed]

In the last decade there has been an increased interest in middle schooling (years 7–10) with at least seven schools offering education to this age group opening around the country in both Auckland, Cambridge, Hamilton, Christchurch and Upper Hutt.[citation needed]

Middle school in Poland, called gimnazjum, was first introduced in 1932. The education was intended for pupils of at least 12 years of age and lasted four years. Middle schools were part of the educational system until the reform of 1947, except during World War II.

The middle schools were reinstated in Poland in 1999 now lasting three years after six years of primary school. Pupils entering gimnazjum are usually 13 years old. Middle school is compulsory for all students, and it is also the final stage of mandatory education. In the final year students take a standardized test to evaluate their academic skills. Higher scorers in the test are allowed first pick of school if they want to continue their education, which is encouraged.

In Portugal, the middle school is known as 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education (2º e 3º ciclos do ensino básico). It comprises the 5th till 9th year of compulsory education, for children between ten and fifteen years old. After the education reform of 1986, the former preparatory school (escola preparatória) or liceu, became part of basic education (educação básica).

Middle school in Romania, or gymnasium, includes grades 5 to 8. At the end of the eighth grade students take an written exam that counts for 75% (before 50%) of the average needed to enroll in high school. Also, because of a new law, you cannot finish middle school and attend high school if you receive a lower grade than 5 in the exams. [12]

Pre-school starts at about 3–6 years of age. Primary school at age 7. Secondary school at age 13. Junior College or Polytechnic at the age of 17. At 18 the boys are drafted into national service; the girls are eligible for university.[citation needed]

Junior high schools (Three years from 7th to 9th grade) in the Republic of China (Taiwan) were originally called "primary middle school".[note 8] However, in August 1968, they were renamed "nationals' middle school"[note 9] often translated "junior high") when they became free of charge and compulsory. Private middle school nowadays are still called "primary middle school". Taiwanese students older than twelve normally attend junior high school. Accompanied with the switch from junior high to middle school was the cancellation of entrance examination needed to enter middle school.[14]

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Republic of Macedonia, the countries of former Yugoslavia, srednja škola (Serbo-Croatian)/srednja šola (Slovene)/средно училиште (Macedonian), literally "middle school", refers to educational institutions for ages between 14 and 18, and lasts 3–4 years, following elementary school (which lasts 8 or 9 years). Gymnasiums are the most prestigious type of "middle" school in these countries.

The final four years of elementary school are actually what would be called junior high school in the USA. Students have up to 12–15 different subjects in each school year (most of them only two 45-minute class periods per week). For example 7th and 8th grade students do not have one subject called Science but three separate subjects called Chemistry, Physics and Biology.[15]

Different authorities introduced different age-range schools, although in the main, three models were used:

5–8 First schools, followed by 8–12 middle schools, as suggested by Plowden

5–9 First schools, followed by 9–13 middle schools

5–10 First schools followed by 10–13 middle schools, or intermediate schools

In many areas primary school rather than first school was used to denote the first tier.

In addition, some schools were provided as combined schools catering for pupils in the 5–12 age range as a combined first and middle school.[17]

Around 2000 middle and combined schools were in place in the early 1980s. However, that number began to fall in the later 1980s with the introduction of the National Curriculum. The new curriculum's splits in Key Stages at age 11 encouraged the majority of Local Education Authorities to return to a two-tier system of Primary (sometimes split into Infant schools and Junior schools) and Secondary schools.[19] There are now fewer than 200 middle schools still operational in the United Kingdom, meaning that approximately 90% of middle schools have closed or reverted to primary school status since 1980.[20]

Under current legislation, all middle schools must be deemed either primary or secondary. Thus, schools which accept pupils up to age 12 are termed deemed primaries or middles-deemed-primaries, while those accepting pupils aged 13 or over are termed deemed secondaries or middles-deemed-secondaries. For statistical purposes, such schools are often included under primary and secondary categories "as deemed".[21] Notably, most schools also follow teaching patterns in line with their deemed status, with most deemed-primary schools offering a primary-style curriculum taught by one class teacher, and most deemed-secondary schools adopting a more specialist-centred approach.

In Scotland, a similar system to the English one was trialled in Grangemouth middle schools, Falkirk between 1975 and 1987.[22] The label of junior high school is used for some through schools in Orkney and Shetland which cater for pupils from 5 up to the age of 14, at which point they transfer to a nearby secondary school.

Historically, in the United States, local public control (and private alternatives) have allowed for some variation in the organization of schools. Elementary school includes kindergarten through fifth grade or sixth grade. Basic subjects are taught in elementary school, and students often remain in one classroom throughout the school day, except for physical education, library, music, and art classes. There were in 2001 about 3.6 million children in each grade in the United States.[23]

Typically, "Middle school" is 6th through 8th grade, though in some schools, it starts in 5th.

"Junior high" usually includes seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. The range defined by either is often based on demographic factors, such as an increase or decrease in the relative numbers of younger or older students, with the aim of maintaining stable school populations.[24] At this time, students are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, and being allowed to choose some of their class subjects (electives). Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student's official transcript.

The middle school format has now replaced the junior high format by a ratio of about ten to one in the United States, but at least two school districts had incorporated both systems in 2010.[25][26]

The "junior high school" concept was introduced in 1909, in Columbus, Ohio.[27] In the late 19th century and early 20th century most American elementary schools had grades 1 through 8. As time passed, the junior high school concept increased quickly as systems modernized buildings and curriculum. This expansion continued through the 1960s. Jon Wiles, author of Developing Successful K–8 Schools: A Principal's Guide, said "A major problem" for the original model was "the inclusion of the ninth grade" because of the lack of instructional flexibility due to the requirement of having to earn high school credits in the ninth grade, and that "the fully adolescent ninth grader in junior high school did not seem to belong with the students experiencing the onset of puberty."[28] The new middle school model began to appear in the mid-1960s. Wiles said "At first, it was difficult to determine the difference between a junior high school and a middle school, but as the middle school became established, the differences became more pronounced[...]."[28]

Junior high schools were created to "bridging the gap between the elementary and the high school," an emphasis credited to Charles W. Eliot.[29] The faculty is organized into academic departments that operate more or less independently of one another.

In Uruguay, the public middle school consists of two stages, one mandatory called "Basic Cycle" or "First Cycle". This consists of three years, ages 12–13, 13–14 and 14–15, and one optional called "Second Cycle", ages 15–16, 16–17 and 17–18. The Second Cycle is divided into 4 options in the 5th grade: "Human Sciences", "Biological", "Scientific" and "Arts", and 7 options in the 6th and last grade: "Law" or "Economy" (if Human Sciences coursed in 5th), "Medicine" or "Agronomy" (if Biological coursed in 5th), "Architecture" or "Engineering" (if Scientific coursed in 5th) and "Arts" (if Arts coursed in 5th).

Both of this stages are commonly known as "Liceo" (Spanish for "high school").

In Venezuela, public middle schools have a different Spanish name than private schools.[note 10] The school system includes a preparatory year before first grade, so nominal grade levels are offset when compared to other countries (except those countries who have mandatory pre-school). Middle schools are from 7th grade (equivalent to 8th grade US) to 11th grade, which is equivalent to 12th grade.

In some institutions called "Technical Schools" there is an extra grade, for those who want to graduate as "Middle technician" in a certain area. This education would allow them to be hired at a higher level, or get introduced more easily into a college career.

There is a "college test" from main universities of the country. Their score on this test might allow them to more quickly obtain a spot within an institution. Students with high qualifications during the high school, have more chances to have the spot.[citation needed]